


Across The Galaxy

by orphan_account



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Worldbuilding: Diplomacy in Space - Freeform, Worldbuilding: Human Settlements on Non-Earthlike Planetary Environments - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-23
Updated: 2017-04-23
Packaged: 2018-10-23 02:45:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10710552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Keisha took a deep breath as if she were trying to digest the information Zarah just gave her. “Why are you doing this? Is it like some weird midlife crisis?”“Keisha, I’m twenty seven. I’m too young to have a midlife crisis.”“Well whatever it is it’s a terrible idea! Why can’t you get a tattoo, stowaway on some shuttle, or try some questionable alien food? All of those would be preferable to joining a colony experiment that could go wrong at any second.”





	Across The Galaxy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Artemis1000](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artemis1000/gifts).



Zarah tried not to smirk at the flabbergasted look on her friends face. It wasn’t often Keisha could be rendered speechless but she had managed to achieve the impossible. She felt proud of this minor accomplishment; as silly was it was.

“Are you serious?”

“Completely.”

Keisha took a deep breath as if she were trying to digest the information Zarah just gave her. “Why are you doing this? Is it like some weird midlife crisis?”

“Keisha, I’m twenty seven. I’m too young to have a midlife crisis.”

“Well whatever it is it’s a terrible idea! Why can’t you get a tattoo, stowaway on some shuttle, or try some questionable alien food? All of those would be preferable to joining a colony experiment that could go wrong at any second.”

She understood why Keisha felt so concerned but Zarah had no regrets. The moment news of an entire human crew discovering planet Iohiri hit the galaxy, Zarah became intrigued. In her lifetime there hadn’t been a new planet or species discovery. Previously that belonged to humans until they finally did find life outside Earth. It wasn't as exciting when you were the new species.

Zarah shot her a reassuring smile. “Listen we’ll stay in contact, yeah? It’ll be like I never left Artemis Station.”

“Am I the only one with any sense in this friendship?” Keisha snapped. “You are moving to a recently unknown planet that is hazardous for humans! I don’t know the details but from what I’ve heard the heat is unbearable.”

“Of course it’s hazardous to humans. The Auk’iz look like giant fucking reptiles. Any species that has thick scales covering their entire body is going to be able to tolerate a planet with a high heat index,” Zarah explained.

She only knew so much about the natives of Iohiri and the planet in general. Most fit in a short little packet that came after you sign up for the mission.

“Fuck your really going to do this, aren't you? Bet there's no way I can talk you out of it either.”

“Keisha let me say this in the more gentle way possible… no.”

Keisha sighed. “So how exactly are you supposed to survive there?”

“Classified.” Annoyance flicked across Keisha’s face but Zarah really couldn't tell her. If it got out, she would be pulled from the experiment.

She let out yet another sigh but this one sounded angry. “This is stupid. There are ways to express galactic inclusiveness without putting people in danger.”

Zarah shrugged. “The Auk’iz are doing the same with their people. They seem like they really want to rejoin the galactic community.”

“My point is… be careful.” Keisha reached out, giving her hand a firm squeeze. “I really can't talk you out of this, can I?”

“Again, the answer is no.”

The colonization project was set to start in just a couple weeks. Zarah felt nervous but anxious to get off Artemis Station and explore a new planet. She hadn't felt like this since leaving Earth on a shuttle headed towards Artemis Station.

Both decisions were influenced by difficult circumstances. The death of her parents influenced Zarah to leave Earth like losing Bastion led to the decision to leave Artemis Station.

Keisha probably suspected that was the reason for her sudden decision to leave but if she suspected it, she never said anything to Zarah.

“You better make it out of this alive or I will find a way to bring you back and kick your ass,” Keisha warned.

“What if I'm cremated?”

“Kick your ashes then.”

She threw her head back and let out a heartfelt laugh. “Have I told you how much I fucking love you?”

“It's been mentioned once or twice.”

Zarah shared a long goodbye with Keisha on the day she was to set off on this new adventure of hers. With a new set of robotic implants to help them deal with the heat, they were more than ready. She left this part out to Keisha though only because the implants were to be kept under wraps until details of the experiment were published.

Then again, one could only prepare so much when they were planning on living on a only recently discovered planet.

“Be careful,” Keisha murmured, causing Zarah to let out a snort of amusement. But of course Keisha's last words to her would be that. The woman just couldn't help herself.

She managed one final wave before they were all ushered onto the shuttle. Zarah’s stomach instantly felt full of butterflies. The hopes were that it only happened to be a case of simple nerves. 

Thus began the journey to Iohiri. Zarah knew she’d always be able to recall the moment she first saw it. The planet resembled Mars shade of red but clearly lacked the size of the red planet. Still, Iohiri was a beautiful planet. This fact couldn’t be ignored.

“Everyone we’ll be touching down in a minute. Power up your enviro suits and do not take them off until we have reached the colony.”

The woman’s voice rung out across the shuttle. Zarah did as the woman said because she didn’t fancy her skin being burnt off; among other things. Coming to Iohiri was to be a new start for her; not lead to Zarah dying a few seconds after touching down.

If Keisha were there she’d yet again accuse Zarah of running from her problems. She’d never deny it. Zarah had been practiced this since she was a teenager, so why stop now?

“Decent in twenty!”

Her voice counted down to every second. When they landed the shuttle jerked, nearly sending some of them flying if it hadn’t been for the safety harnesses. Zarah clutched them tightly, only letting go when the voice came over the intercom again.

“We have landed. Please remove your safety harnesses and step towards the front of the shuttle and onto the landing pad. Standby for further information.”

Any view of Iohiri was obscured by the landing pad. There were a couple windows but you couldn’t get the best view of the planet from it.

The shock of being on a new planet hit her when Zarah finally stood face to face with her natives of Iohiri. Videos and pictures of Auk’iz were distributed to all of the colonists. Seeing them with her own two eyes gave Zarah a new perspective.

They were covered in scales that were all different shades of green; some even bordering on the color blue. The Auk’iz lacked hair and while physically Zarah found a few differences, there still was an overall humanoid shape.

Definitely not the 'lizard people’ Zarah had accused them of being back on Artemis Station. The human crew who made first contact with the Auk’iz must've had similar thoughts but diplomacy curtailed such comments.

“Your kind stares quite a lot, doesn't it?” asked one of the Auk'iz nearest to where Zarah stood. They spoke in a soft voice, reptilian eyes flickering over to the conversation happening just a few feet from them.

By this point the Overseer of the colonization project had begun to speak to one of the Auk’iz; presumably the one of highest rank among those that had come out to greet them.

Zarah never realized she was staring but the same could be said about them. “You’re new to us. I see your people guilty of the same thing!”

“Yes, but we are better at hiding it.” The Auk’iz (probably of the female persuasion given the voice) sounded smug. Not unbearably so at least. 

She had a sentence on the tip of her tongue but then the Overseer started speaking to the group.again.

“We are about to go to the colony. Remember to keep your envio suits on. Your heat tolerance will build up over time thanks to the implants but for the time being we are too vulnerable.”

This seemed to inspire the Auk'iz Zarah was talking to earlier to share another opinion. “Your species is so fragile and squishy. How do you survive?”

The Aukiz shifted her gaze to Zarah in order to see her response. “We humans are quite the durable species. Look up some of our exploits on the galaticnet. History will prove we are quite resilient.” Her eyes seemed to study Zarah even more closely. She was unsure of what to make of the intense gaze. “Like what you see?”

She made a noise and said a word that Sarah’s translator’s couldn't pick up. “You're not terrible to look at; for being such a squishy and soft species.”

“Miss Hale if you are done, would you please be so kind as to head towards the exit?” Snapped the Overseer.

The Auk'iz Zarah was speaking to seemed to get the same tongue lashing. She didn't understand what was said but by her expression Zarah figured it wasn’t pleasant.

Zarah hurried towards the exit. The selection process for this experiment had been brutal. She didn't want to screw it up just minutes into it.

Stepping out into the sun proved to be an experience. Her first reaction was to flinch and lift up her arm in an effort to block the sun’s rays. It helped little but it was an instantaneous reaction. Zarah couldn’t help it.

She quickly put down her arm after realizing how fruitless the action was. Zarah continued on the path, trudging along with her fellow colonists who looked as exhausted as she felt. Eventually they reached their new home. She cared little how sparse it looked or how small the rooms were. As long as Zarah had a bed to sleep in, she felt content. 

The Overseer figured it best to speak out to the tired and exhausted group. Zarah couldn’t fault her for that. “Please take a look at the chart and seek out your quarters. Make sure to thank the accompanying Auk’iz for giving us this opportunity. They will be back tomorrow morning to join us for a complimentary breakfast for the Auk’iz leaving so please wake early.”

Zarah stumbled into her room mere seconds after the Overseer’s speech ended. She kicked off the envio suit, stripping down to her underclothes. They consisted of nothing but leggings and a tank top; more than comfortable to sleep in.

She was asleep before her head even hit the pillow.

~*~

A rapt knocking at the door caused Zarah to bolt upwards in bed.

“What?” Zarah snapped, voice laced with sleep.

“Breakfast in ten minutes. Overseer wants us all there.”

She groaned. “And if we miss it?”

“It will be a show of terrible galactic diplomacy against our new neighbors.”

“Fine. I’ll be up in five just to show her.”

True to her word she was out of bed, dressed back in her envio suit and at the table. To her left was another colonist and on the right side was that Auk’iz, Zarah spoken to yesterday.

She held out her hand to them, a sleepy smile on her face. “I’m still half asleep but I want to try a proper greeting. Hello, I’m Zarah Hale and you are?”

“Why is your hand extended like that?”

Zarah laughed. “It’s a common greeting for humans. How do the Auk’iz say hello?”

A scaled covered hand reached out to grasp her own. It was similar to a human’s; five fingers and a similar shape but with scales and very sharp talons. Then the hand was withdrawn and the Auk’iz leaned forward, pressing her forehead against Zarah's.

“I am known as Ilal. Nice to meet you as well, Zarah Hale.”

It was quite the intimate greeting but Zarah didn’t so much as twitch. She just stayed where she was until Ilal pulled away. “Hello Ilal.”

“You humans are quite delicate but it’s still brave of you to come all this way,” Ilal murmured, eyes flickering over towards Zarah as she spoke. “Why did you come all this way to Iohiri?”

Zarah huffed. “It’s not a very complicated answer. I did what I always do with a difficult situation presents itself in my life; I left. The colonization experiment just so happened to accepting volunteers so what better way to avoid my problems then to travel to the very ends of the galaxy?”

Ilal blinked. “I understand that more then you would think. It pushed me to sign up and live at this Artemis Station of yours.”

“Guess I won’t be seeing anymore of you then,” Zarah muttered. She felt disappointed because Ilal seemed like an interesting person to talk too. Granted they hadn’t interacted long but she was amusing. “Since your group is leaving after this breakfast, why don’t you tell me what you’re running from. I’m a stranger you’re never going to see again. What have you got to lose?”

“I did not understand some of what you said. I am not running from anything and I do not recall us playing any sort of game where I will lose but if you are asking why I am leaving then I shall tell you,” Ilal answered. “My family wishes a different future for me. Rather than continue the pointless arguments I’ll simply leave.”

“Huh.”

“What does that sound mean?”

Zarah couldn’t help but laugh again. “It just means I understand.”

“Human can express their emotions in the shortest of words. Amazing.” Ilal did look genuinely amazed. She didn’t correct her. Let Ilal think she was wiser than she actually was. “You must tell me why you left, yes?”

Why hadn’t Zarah seen that coming? It only seemed fair if she answered Ilal’s question since she answered Zarah's. “First time? My parents death. Second? A rather embarrassing breakup. I apparently wasn’t fit enough to be a politician's girlfriend.” The second memory wasn’t exactly tied to Artemis station but getting away from the place where they spent the most time together made sense at the time.

“What is it you humans say when someone has wronged you?”

“Fuck him,” Zarah said.

Ilal made that odd noise again that Zarah realized must be a laugh. “Fuck my family then.”

She had been questioning her decision to join this project but for the first time since coming here, Zarah thought she might had made a good decision. Of course, only time would tell.


End file.
